This Christmas
by Galtori
Summary: I decided to upload a Christmas story in celebration of the season! This is an AU Shenko, and there will be an elaboration of the main plot inside the story. Merry Christmas to all! This will be a two-shot. Rated T for a light innuendo.
1. Long-Distance Reception

Long Distance Reception

AN: Hello everyone. I'm back! And I bring a Christmas gift! This will be a two-shot preview of my next big fic, which will be an AU teen!FemShenko. To keep confusion to a minimum, my AU has Kaidan and Annalisa Shepard meeting roughly one year after BAaT and spend about a year together. During this year, Anna's father dies. This scene takes place at the end of their year together. Annalisa is a Spacer, and has returned with her mother Hannah to their ship, preparing for Christmas.

Annalisa is not a default appearance Shep. She has green eyes, fair skin, a light dusting of freckles from her time in Vancouver, and long strawberry-blonde hair.

* * *

It was her first Christmas without Dad, and even though the crew had gone all out with decorations, she viewed it all with sadness in her heart. She seemed to view the world with gray-tinted glasses, her rose-tinted ones shattered on Earth. But she wasn't the only kid on the ship, so she didn't ask to take them down. It was now Christmas Eve, and the ship was docked. Parents were whispering that Santa had taken off. It took all her will to not cry.

_She was 8, anxiously waiting for Santa. It was already 00:32, and she didn't know how much longer she could stay awake. Her eyes were beginning to drift closed, when the door whooshed open._

_That was when she saw him: red with white lining from head to toe, a big belly, and a large pack on his back. She watched him ease in with baited breath, but when he turned to her direction, he straightened._

"_Good little girls are supposed to be asleep by now," a deep voice gently chided._

"_I had to see if you were real. Jimmy said you weren't real," she defended._

"_Jonathan Maxwell. Age 12. He stopped believing because I gave him a stuffed hanar when he wanted a drell warrior two years ago." She starred in wonder as he rattled off facts _she_ didn't even know. "I have his present right here." He reached into the sack and pulled out a small bag of coal. Her mouth was a wide 'O'. "And if you'll excuse me, I have to set down your presents." He reached into his sack again and began pulling out presents wrapped in bright, shiny red paper with vivid green bows. "I'll take that off your hands." He put the coal back in his bag before kneeling down to her level. "I am as real as the spirit of Christmas. I will always be here as long as there are children willing to believe in me." She nodded her head silently in understanding. "Now go to bed. You can open your gifts tomorrow morning. Your mother will enjoy watching you open them. It is my present to her." Her eyes opened in astonishment as she processed what he said. She then nodded, suddenly very sleepy. She was about to curl back up on the couch when Santa gently shook her back awake. "I would like you to sleep in your room. I have one last present to deliver here, but the shape will give it away." Her curiosity was piqued, but before she could plot, he added. "I cannot deliver it if I see you awake. Now go."_

"_Yes, sir. And merry Christmas."_

"_Merry Christmas indeed." Santa waited until she had walked into her room before he left. She could hear the door open from her room. Tired, she stumbled to bed. When she opened her eyes, her clock told her that morning had already come: 08:02. Curious to see what else Santa had left, she pounded on the wall that separated her room from her mother's room. "Mom! Wake up! It's Christmas." She waited a few seconds before hearing two pounds from her mother. She then pulled on a robe and ran into the living room to find-_

_She stood stock-still in the entryway. Her father was sitting on the couch, a large green bow on his shoulder. He had obviously fallen asleep on the couch, one hand propping his head up. _

"_Anna, why are you-" Her mother's words fell silent as she saw the same present. "Go wake your father. Gently though." She didn't have to be told twice, running to her father and hugging him awake._

"_Santa gave me a ride here. He even managed to convince my captain to give me Christmas with you. I can't stay for long, but I have today." He opened one arm to his wife, keeping the other one firmly wrapped around his daughter._

"_You saw Santa too?" She asked in excitement._

"_Yes. He had me wait outside while he made sure the coast was clear. He didn't want to spoil the surprise."_

"_Best Christmas present," she whispered into his shoulder._

"_I love you too, Lisa."_

It wasn't until last year that he told her it had been him the whole time. Ships with kids tended to do the Santa thing as long as the parents agreed to it. It was an unspoken tradition on Alliance vessels. Kennan had been planning this out for a month and had convinced the other parents to let him play Santa, surprising the children aboard and his wife.

Anna walked up to the parents talking and dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Do you have someone for the role of Santa?" The dad nodded yes. She nodded in return and turned to walk away.

"The first Christmas without them is toughest. It gets easier as time goes on. But seeing the young ones believe helps." She turned back, and the dad continued. "I lost my wife three years ago. I understand." She nodded again, her throat tied up too tightly for her to say her thanks, but he seemed to understand anyways. She walked away from them, but ran back to her room before the tears could fall.

A few hours later, she was wandering the ship again, trying to think up a new place to practice her biotics when one of the crewmen came up to her.

"Hey, we just got a bunch of packages, and there's one for you." He handed her a small package. She took it and was about to open it, when a small icon popped up.

'Don't open until Christmas' it said. _Oh, well then._ '-Kaidan' the second line read. A grin came up on her face. _He didn't need to send a present._ Her mom had sent a present with both of their names on it, but now she felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't gotten him anything special.

"Kaidan," she whispered, shaking her head. She then turned around and went to drop the present off. However, she couldn't help trying to sneak a peek. She gently began to untie the bow when she was suddenly shocked, almost dropping the box in the process.

'I mean it! I wired this thing to give a small electrical shock if you tried to open it before Christmas. No peeking! You'll spoil the surprise. –Kaidan' She laughed out loud, the first true laugh since she'd stepped aboard the ship. This would definitely be the highlight of her Christmas. She checked the clock on her omni-tool. 20:21. She almost groaned as she placed the gift under the tree in her mother's cabin.

The next morning dragged its feet, but finally came. She eagerly tore through every wrapped present, but she kept her final present near her feet. When the rest of her gifts had been opened, examined, and the giver thanked, she turned to the smallest gift of all. She held it up and gingerly pulled at the ribbon, hoping that she wouldn't receive a second shock. She shouldn't, but she wanted to make sure. As she tugged on the ribbon, another message popped up.

'Yes, you can open it now. Merry Christmas, Annalisa.' She chuckled and opened the gift, carefully keeping the bow intact. She and her mother had an old tradition of preserving bows.

"It isn't big enough to put on your head, but how about your wrist?" Her mother took her wrist and deftly slid it on. "There we go." She then rearranged the bow on her head. Anna then turned her attention to the wrapping paper, ripping it to shreds. There was a small device attached to the paper. _That must be the sensor. I'll have to examine it later._ She then opened the box, and her jaw dropped. Sitting inside was a beautiful necklace. It was in the shape of a snowflake, accented with clear crystals.

"Mom," she motioned her mother over, who gasped when she saw the gift, but pulled out a piece of paper attached to the top of the box, handing it to her daughter.

'It's snowing in Vancouver, and I know you said that you had never seen snow before. While I can't send real snow, I thought I would send you this. Each snowflake on Earth is unique, like you. Merry Christmas – Kaidan' She was touched, speechless even. Her parents had given her wonderful gifts before, but somehow this gift meant more.

"You should go call him and thank him. He'll be up by now. And wear this when you thank him." She took the necklace out of the box and put it on her daughter. She then left the room, letting Anna pull up Kaidan on her omni-tool in privacy. He quickly answered.

"Good morning and merry Christmas," he greeted. He smiled at her.

"Good morning and merry Christmas to you too," she returned. He was still grinning at her. "Is something up?" She asked.

"You've – um –" he scratched the back of his neck. "You've got a big bow on your head." She blushed deeply in embarrassment before pulling the bow off her head.

"Why didn't mom tell me I still-" she quietly muttered before turning her attention back to Kaidan. "Sorry, we always do that on Christmas. Wear any bows, that is. She forgot to tell me I was still wearing one on my head." She held up her wrist in illustration, showing him the bow on her wrist. He finally couldn't seem to hold back his laughter anymore, letting a chuckle bubble out of him.

"That's pretty cute actually," he conceded. Her jaw dropped in horror.

"_Cute?!_ Oh, I can't have that. My reputation will be ruined on the ship. But regardless, I wanted to thank you for my gift." She took a step back from the omni-tool to let him see her better. His smile softened in response.

"You look good. Uh – I mean – It looks good. On you. Not that you don't look nice, you do." Now it was her turn to begin laughing as he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck again.

"I think we're even now." She was hushing her laugh for his sake. "So how's your Christmas going?" She changed the subject.

"It's going well. Although I'll have to hang up soon. We're going over to an aunt's house later, and I'm still in my pajamas." He ran a hand through his hair. "Mom won't let me out of the house like this, family or not." She chuckled.

"I'll let you go then."

"Alright, but I might send you a message. It can get pretty boring, and I may need an excuse to step out for a while." She grinned at him.

"Now that I can do. You'll have to show me how the snow looks too." He straightened, his face brightening.

"I can show you how it looks in the morning too. Here," he picked up the omni-tool, moving it to a window. Outside, she saw the orchards outside his home, but magically transformed by the snow. After a minute, he turned the camera back to him. "Did you like the view?"

"It's beautiful. But I don't remember seeing this exact view. Where are you?" She was curious and just had to know. He gave a low chuckle in response.

"I'm in my room right now." She blushed a little. _Ah._ He straightened as they heard his mother's familiar tone. "And that's my cue to get ready. I'll have to let you go." She felt regret tugging at her, but she nodded her head in understanding.

"Alright. Let me know if I need to bail you out."

"Will do." And with that he signed off. She waited a moment before looking at her necklace again, smiling at the beautiful gift.

Kaidan sat on his bed, happy beyond imagining. He heard a knock on his door and stood to answer his mother's knocks.

"Did you hear me dear? We need to get ready to head over to your Aunt Irene's house."

"Yes, Mom. I'm going to change. Do you need something before I do that?"

"No, but I was wondering how your chat with Annalisa went." He grinned as he thought about it.

"Really well. She likes my gift." His mother smiled back at him.

"Good. I'm glad. Well, I'll let you get ready." She turned her back and left. He closed the door and let a goofy grin spread across his face. _She really likes it. I can tell by her eyes. They were sparkling the whole time._ The image of her wearing that bow on her head came back to his mind. Her wearing that bow and his necklace. Her in that shirt that dipped just low enough to show skin, but not low enough to show cleavage. _Stop,_ he commanded himself. _Why am I thinking of her like that?_ He shook his head. _Ridiculous. Now stop it. I doubt she sees you as more than a friend. Her joy was about the necklace, not about you._ He decided to make that shower a cold one. His parents would wonder what took him if he dallied.

* * *

AN: I originally thought of having Anna stay in Vancouver with Kaidan for Christmas and have him give her that gift in person. But I liked that Anna could have a private first reaction to the gift and still have them interact in the scene.

And about the Shepard ribbon tradition: I took that from my own family. When my birthday rolls around, there's always one gift that has a big bow, and I always end up having to wear it. It happens at every holiday too. *shrugs* So I thought it would look adorable on my Shepard.

And I do love young love. Merry Christmas!


	2. The Shepard Tradition, Perpetuated

The Shepard Tradition, Perpetuated

AN: Merry Christmas! I bring the second part of my preview. Yes, I extend their shenanigans all the way into Mass Effect 1. Because I can. So, I bring you Christmas on the Normandy.

Edit: FRACK! Sorry everyone! I spent the whole day at my aunt and uncle's house. There was snow (IN TEXAS! WEEHEEEE!) so driving home was longer than normal. But here is the second chapter.

* * *

"Good morning and merry Christmas," Kaidan greeted as she sat down, a datapad in one hand, coffee in the other.

"Good morning and merry Christmas," she replied. She glanced back at her room, wondering if she should give him his present now or later. _Ah, what the hell? Why not now?_ She decided. "I forgot something in my room. Don't move." She stood and waved at Joker, who had just come down the stairs. "Morning, Joker. Merry Christmas. Stay here when you get your coffee." She then walked into her room, grabbing two of the gifts. When she walked out, both men were still obediently waiting, but both broke out in grins when they saw what she was holding.

"Hell yes," Joker whooped, sitting down, while Kaidan simply smiled at her.

"I guess that means that _I'll_ be back in a minute," Liara and Ashley had filed in by the time Kaidan stood up, leaving Anna curious. But instead of following him, she greeted the two women and went to fetch their gifts. By the time she came out, Ashley and Joker were already explaining Christmas and the tradition of exchanging gifts.

"Oh, Commander, I would have gotten you a gift-" Liara began, but Anna held out a hand to stall her.

"Liara, it's fine-" She started.

"Because she already has a present," Kaidan finished for her. She blinked as she stared at the green package. And sitting on top of the gift was-

"Oh," she groaned, "you aren't going to make me are you?" She looked at him, hoping he wouldn't make her wear the bow.

"You said it was a Shepard tradition. Besides, it isn't a large bow." He set the gift down in front of her as she blushed and the crew members looked at them in curiosity.

"There's a Shepard tradition of wearing the bows from presents for a short period of time. Mom and I started it when I was young. We just started pinning every bow we got on Dad until he was almost covered in bows. After that, it was just tradition." The memory was a happy one, and she would take the happy ones when she could. As she noted the quiet in the mess, she blushed slightly before noticing that the rest of the ground team had arrived. "Oh, I'll go get your presents real quick." She got up before anyone could say no and used the brief time in her room to brush her eyes quickly. When she came back out, Ashley and Joker were already half-way through opening their gifts, Chakwas and Kaidan were again explaining Christmas to all the alien crewmembers, and Liara was listening again. But Ashley caught her eye: she was wearing her bow on her wrist. Anna smiled as she approached the group, distributing the last of the gifts.

"Why are you opening them already?" Tali asked Joker in curiosity.

"There's no reason not to, and I won't sit here all patient, waiting for you guys to catch up. I wanna see what my gift is." He then opened the box. " 'Those "annoying wannabes messing with my baby" installed some upgrades on the ship's guns. This stuff may be cutting edge, but there are still upgrades that the Alliance wants to test.' Sweet!" He looked up as he finished reading the card, a grin on his face. "Can't wait to try them out the next time when we get in a fight!" He then glanced at Ashley before sticking his bow on the brim of his cap. Anna chuckled and shook her head.

"Nice. The latest Kinetic Exoskeleton upgrade for my armor. Should definitely help in combat. Thanks, Skipper." She nodded at Anna, who grinned back at her. By now, everyone else had settled down and was opening their presents.

"Since the last one was an incorrect order," Kaidan read. "Ah, the new armor from Kassa Fabrication. Wow, Shepard. The Colossus armor? Thanks." He seemed shocked by how nice the gift was. Apparently he had been paying attention to the price tags as well. She shrugged in response.

"I couldn't have you running around in that horrid Phoenix armor." She allowed herself an inner smile. At that moment, Liara gave out a startled 'oh', allowing Shepard to publicly smile.

" 'We seem to be coming across a lot of advanced Prothean technology, so I have upgraded the analytical equipment you normally use.' Oh that's a wonderful gift. I think I will look over some of the devices we've already uncovered to see if there is anything I missed. This will greatly help a research paper I've been writing." The asari looked speechless with joy, but apparently that wasn't the case. Anna simply smiled at Liara. A chuckle from Garrus drew their attention.

"The latest combat optics upgrade? This should work well on my sniper rifle, Shepard. Should let me see anything coming regardless of their jamming tech and make sure I nail them." Garrus nodded his appreciation.

"That's why I got it," Anna replied. Dr. Chakwas chuckled as she came over to Shepard.

"And you just knew this round of gifts wouldn't be complete without upgrades to the med-bay, didn't you?" She hugged Anna. Several eyebrows raised in response. "I've known Annalisa-" she shot Anna a glance as Anna winced. _I've never enjoyed anyone using my first name in a military setting._ "-since before she was born. I served on the same ship as her parents when they first met." Wrex chuckled as the last of his wrapping paper fell away.

"Well, you just might make a good battlemaster after all, Shepard." He clapped her on the shoulder as he held his new shotgun. "Spectre-grade too. It'll do a lot of damage."

"Oh wow! Shepard, I've only seen this on display once, and that was an older model. Serrice Council's latest Savant omni-tool. This is phenomenal. Thank you so much," Tali spoke the last line softly.

"I think that goes for all of us, Commander," Kaidan added. "Thank you for the gifts." Everyone murmured their agreement, and she was about to turn to her room when Kaidan spoke again. "However, that doesn't get you out of opening your own present." _Damn,_ she thought, slumping her shoulders as she turned around. Everyone laughed in response.

"Well, you have one more present to add to that pile. And no, I wasn't told about the tradition ahead of time," Ashley noted as she put another present next to Kaidan's. Shepard sighed in defeat. _Best to get this over and done with instead of dragging it out._ "Besides, Flyboy and I are already wearing ours."

"Alright then." Shepard sat at the table, opening Kaidan's gift first. Her jaw dropped as she unwrapped a new pistol. Looking at the package, she read 'HMWP Master Pistol X - Spectre Grade'. "Kaidan," her voice was a whisper. "You know I don't use a pistol that often."

"So? You're outfitting all of us with the best weapons out there, but your pistol isn't up to snuff. Sure you rely on your biotics and omni-tool in battle, but when those two are out, you always go for your pistol. You shouldn't be carrying a sub-par weapon when that's your last line of defense." He spoke with confidence, his reasons backing him up 100%. And she felt humbled, not just by the fact that one of her team would care about her like that. It was what she knew went unsaid in those facts. 'I care about you. I want to make sure you're safe, that the very best stuff keeps you safe. Credits aren't a factor where your safety is concerned.' She realized she had probably been stammering for too long. _Thank the man and move on,_ her brain told her.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking him in the eye. He seemed quite satisfied with himself. She then cleared her throat in an attempt to rid herself of her blush and began to move on to the next gift.

"Hey, not so fast. There was a bow there, remember?" He gleefully reminded her. Glaring at him, she took the bow and pulled it onto her arm, making an arm-band out of it.

"Wait a second," she had only just realized that something was missing. "You aren't wearing yours either. Joker and Ash are; why aren't you?"

"I think it's far too big for my head or arm," he coolly dodged.

"Oh, I think it might make a nice sash," Ash piped up. Shepard grinned as Ash reached across and grabbed the bow, throwing it over Kaidan's head. "Now we just have to get it through your arm." As Ash finished the sentence, Shepard grabbed Kaidan's arm and pulled it through. Kaidan threw a glare at Joker.

"What do you expect me to do? I'm not about to have them touch my hat, so I just did it on my terms," Joker threw back.

"Well then, why doesn't the rest of the team join us?" Kaidan looked around, and surprisingly, everyone did. Everyone pulled their bows over their arms, while Tali opted to put hers on her new omni-tool.

"Skipper, you've still got one gift." Ash nudged the gift closer to her, and Shepard obliged, opening the gift to find:

"A stuffed hanar?" She couldn't have asked for a funnier, quirkier gift. And she loved it.

"Oh, that's not all. Squeeze him." Shepard raised an eyebrow but did as she was told.

"This one would love to tell you about the Enkindlers." The mess burst into laughter as a hanar voice came from the plush. Trust Ash to make a reference to the one hanar they had ever met.

"You can modify what it says with your average omni-tool," Ashley explained before her eyes lit up again. "Give me a sec." After a moment of fiddling with her omni-tool, and a chuckle from Joker, she instructed, "squeeze it again, but put the pistol in one of its tentacles." Shepard obliged.

"This one has forgotten whether its heat sink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate." Everyone began to roar with laughter. They all knew that Shepard held a special love for Blasto.

"Thank you, Ash. It's perfect." She gave a sincere smile to Ash.

"Now you just have to wear the bow. Come on, on your head." Shepard glared at Ash, but Ash wouldn't budge. Shepard huffed a sigh before putting the bow on. She glanced at Kaidan to see him giving her a small, sideways grin. "What's attached to the chain Skipper?" Ash asked in curiosity. Shepard looked down to see that her chain was indeed sticking out and blushed.

"It's just an old gift from a friend." When she saw that Ash would not give up, she pulled out the old snowflake necklace Kaidan had bought all those years ago. Several people gave small 'wow's. Kaidan wore a shocked expression before his eyes flicked up to her eyes. Then he gave her a look of pride. They both knew how special the gift was, and the friendship it represented between them.

"Who gave it to you?" Ashley prompted. Shepard didn't want to rat out Kaidan and embarrass him. Most of the ground team already teased him anyways, and she didn't want to add to it. But before she could give an evasive answer, Kaidan spoke up.

"I did." Silence descended on the mess as all eyes turned to him.

"You have fine taste in jewelry," Chakwas broke the silence and Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck.

"I had some help picking it out. But I knew you hadn't seen snow before, and I figured that was the closest I could get to sending you snow." Kaidan had opted for looking at Anna instead of the others.

"How long ago was this?" Joker pried.

"I was 17 at the time, just before I enlisted. Kaidan and I had met the year before and spent some time together. We exchanged gifts that year." She shrugged, hoping that the subject would change soon.

"Well, I know that your mother would love to see the family tradition carried on, so I'm going to have to send a picture of everyone to her. Now gather up." She gave a few shooing motions and everyone quickly fell into place. When she had taken the picture, Ashley insisted on taking one of her own to send to the family. Fortunately, Liara stood up to take that picture.

* * *

Later that evening, Captain Hannah Shepard's omni-tool pinged. She looked in curiosity to see a picture and attached note from her daughter. "The Family Tradition, Perpetuated" was the title. She sat down to open it.

"Merry Christmas, Mom. Hope my gift came through," it started. She had received the imported tea from her daughter. "Kaidan remembered our tradition, and I got gifts for my ground team. You can see where that led. Don't worry; I used the Spectre account, so your money is untouched." She opened the picture and read the caption: "Bottom row: Kaidan Alenko, Annalisa Shepard, Ashley Williams, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau; Top row: Dr. Liara T'Soni, Urdnot Wrex, Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Offscreen: Dr. Karin Chakwas."

The krogan held a shotgun high while the quarian held an omni-tool. Annalisa's and Ashley's left and right arms held a hanar and pistol respectively, no doubt a reference to the latest Blasto movie. Everyone in the picture wore a bow on their arm, spare Kaidan, who wore his like a sash and Jeff, who wore his on his hat.

But her attention was on her daughter. Anna wore a bow on her head and arm, wearing the necklace Kaidan gave her years ago. In the picture, the strong Commander seemed to have stepped back in time, looking like the seventeen-year-old who had found a new reason to smile. Only now, Anna was surrounded by people who would look after her. Hannah felt tears come to her eyes as she remembered some of her late husband's words.

"_I don't think I'll ever need another Christmas gift." Kennan spoke quietly as they watched their daughter's fifth Christmas, tearing open gifts with glee in her eyes._

"_Why is that?" Hannah asked._

"_Because the joy on her face, in her eyes, is a good enough present to last me all year long." Hannah turned and kissed her husband, all the more in love with him at that moment._

Hannah brushed away her tears as she hugged the picture of her happy daughter.

"Kennan, if you're out there and listening, keep an eye on our girl. I don't want this happiness taken from her."

* * *

AN: And that's the end of my two-shot preview! I really loved this scene because I wanted to show the Momma in Anna and how she dotes on her team. But I snuck in some cute Shenko. They think they're hiding in plain sight. And they're so lovable. Hannah's little bit was a bit of a last-minute thing. But I wanted to see her reaction to Anna finally finding a true home. And I wanted to bring the ribbons back. Just because I can. And Kaidan having to wear a ribbon as a sash made me think of "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story, which made me die laughing. And I loved the little snapshot that I painted. I can really picture Hannah using it at Anna's funeral because that's the real Annalisa Shepard. And the necklace made a comeback. I just love that necklace.


End file.
